I love my new job. No, really. I LOVE it. I get to read for a living. Not just any old books, but the newest, most polished fantasy offerings out there.

For many years, I was a legal secretary, and I was damn good at my job. When I got laid off in January of 2008, I was devastated. How was I going to support my family? How would I make my car payments? And the rejection issues… don’t get me started.

It’s taken a few years for me to get comfortable again, during which time I went back to school to earn my paralegal certificate, joined a writer’s club, wrote short stories and flash fiction, began my first novel, and started my own editing service. My life and my career path have both morphed into something I hardly recognize. I never would have expected to be a Managing Editor for a hot new publishing company, but here I am. Pinch me, I must be dreaming!

So here I am, recently turned 48, and having to learn some new self-marketing skills. I was already a pro at Facebook (Hi, my name’s Monique and I am a recovering Farmville addict) but I’d steered clear of Twitter. It seemed like something for the young’uns in the crowd, and not something I’d ever need.

My friend Deb (my writing guru and marketing expert extraordinaire) gave me a quick Twitter lesson. I started out slowly, just dabbling in the Tweet River. I began following people: writers, authors, editors, publishers. I learned to retweet and use hash tags. Then the magic started happening – people began following me back! What’s this? The girl who always got picked last at school, who was too skinny and too nerdy, who was the butt of every flat-chested joke known to high school hooligans everywhere, has Twitter followers? PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWING ME AND IT’S A GOOD THING??!! My ego got a huge boost.

Now, a few short weeks later, I feel like an old pro at this thing. See?! It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks 😉